19.4.18

Sergio Aguero Likely To Miss World Cup

Sergio Aguero will struggle to recover from knee surgery in time
for the World Cup, according to Argentina Football Association doctor
Homero D’Agostino.

Manchester City striker Aguero underwent an arthroscopy after
aggravating a knee problem during their derby defeat to rivals
Manchester United, Pep Guardiola citing a challenge from Ashley Young
that went unpunished by referee Martin Atkinson for the injury.

The striker was included in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year
on Wednesday after scoring 30 times in all competitions for newly
crowned champions City.

But D’Agostino doubts whether the 29-year-old will be fully fit for
the World Cup, with Argentina opening their campaign in Russia on June
16 against Iceland.

“That a player has undergone an arthroscopy with 60 days to go before the World Cup is worrying,” D’Agostino told Radio 10.

“The recovery process will require at least five weeks. When
one has old injuries, the recovery process is not as fast as one would
like it to be. It’s never going to be less than three or four weeks, or
even more.

“I imagine that he will not arrive 100 per cent fit with the
limited time that is left before the World Cup. The anatomy is the
anatomy. The injury is what it is. He can try but I don’t think he will
arrive 100 per cent.

“The important thing is to know what he had. The doctors would
have tried to resolve the issue in a conservative manner,
non-surgically, but they were unsuccessful. The arthroscopy is a process
that you do when there are old injuries.”

Should Jorge Sampaoli be unable to rely on Aguero for the World
Cup, the Argentina coach could turn to Inter captain Mauro Icardi or
Juventus striker Paulo Dybala, both of whom were left out of his most
recent squad.

Former City forward Carlos Tevez, back playing for boyhood club
Boca Juniors in Argentina, has also indicated he retains hope of being
called up the World Cup.